Wednesday, January 28, 2009

My oldest and youngest sister have gone into business together. Their mission? To use their OCD to better the world. Their vehicle? Their new website Store & Style. Give it a whirl and see what you think. Oh... and sign up for their free weekly giveaway. It'll boost their website traffic and help them land more advertisers. (Oh... and get anyone else you know to sign up too)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Saturday, November 22, 2008

I figured the long-awaited release of Guns 'N Roses' almost-mythic, seventeen-years-in-the-making, just-about-stopped-believing-we'd-ever-see-it album Chinese Democracy was a worthy note on which to make my less-eagerly-anticipated but still almost-stopped-believing-we'd-ever-see-it return to my personal blog.

For those unaware, I was quite-the-dedicated G'N'R fan back in the day (much to my father's chagrin, who disapprovingly used to try to steal my albums before I finally wore him down). Back when I was a sophmore, I used to hit ski slopes listening to Use Your Illusion II (hearing the song Breakdown still makes me think of getting first tracks on Snowbird's Little Cloud bowl. Driving home from midnight movies, dances, or nights out with friends, I'd often take the long way home just to crank another song like Welcome to the Jungle, Rocket Queen, Freight Train, Civil War or Sweet Child o' Mine (I could do a mean air-guitar on the steering column). And I'd even perfected what I thought at the time was a pretty solid Axl-impression (though I now seriously question how good it ever was).

While clearly not the fan I once was, I have to admit to being excited about the release of Chinese Democracy. Rumors of its pending release have popped up so often over the years that I've long since written them off. But it's here... and despite approaching it with some serious doubts (see, e.g., Rose's disasterous performance at the MTV music awards a couple of years back), the album is actually half decent. It officially drops tomorrow, but has been available on myspace since Thursday. In that time I've managed to give it a couple of whirls and it's grown on me.

Given the album's seventeen-year genesis, it's no surprise that the album sounds a little over-produced, but the songs are also all pretty tight with little to no flab. The ridiculous number of musicians that contributed to the project over the years is apparent and it cuts into the album's consistency at points (and the absence of original bandmates, most notably Slash, is sorely felt), but hearing Axl's scratchy falcetto is oddly refreshing. His lyrics are often pretty incomprehensible, but in truth they're no worse than the lyrics of countless other artists I love (see, e.g., Dave Matthews or Ben Harper). The album is an eclectic mix of sounds, genres, and styles, but, even with its sometimes over-produced feel, you still hear a little of the angry, raw, and scrappy G'N'R of yore. Here are some random somewhat unorganized thoughts I had aboutAxl's solo effort (while I sit and wonder just what it would have been like had he actually managed to get the band back together to finish this one off):

I love the intro rif on the title track. I think that Better manages to do a good job capturing the old G'N'R sound. Street of Dreams is a solid ballad. There was a Time is extraordinarily rich -- with about a million things going on -- but it just works. Songs like Raid N' The Bedouins and I.R.S. rock pretty hard. There is a me-against-the-world feel to the album, with Axl all-too-conspicuously comparing himself to none-other than famed-recluse and media-phobe J.D. Salinger in Catcher in the Rye. Sorry almost seems like a fitting note to end the whole thing on... with you not quite sure whether he's singing to the women or the bandmates he notoriously battled with over the years.

In sum, I think Chinese Democracy is Rose's answer the consistent chorus of criticism (much of it not too far off target) that has hounded him since Guns 'N Roses broke up the better part of two decades ago. It's Axl's chance to try and cement his legacy as one of rock's gifted, but tortured-souls and to make all the nay-sayers eat a little crow. And I have to say, I don't mind doing eating it at all.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Saturday, April 26, 2008

I've held my peace for too long. It's time to speak out against a troubling trend that seems to be gaining momentum.

First it was the Horse Whisperer. The man who understood and had a way with troubled horses. This was fine. It was new and kind of interesting. Next came the Dog Whisperer, who, like the Horse Whisperer, could relate to and correct the behavior of difficult animals. A play off of the original, this too was bearable. Then someone decided the Ghost Whisperer would be cute. A woman with the uncanny ability to reach beyond the veil and communicate with troubled spirits. This is where things really began to veer off-course. Clue #1: Anything involving Jennifer Love Hewitt should probably give you pause.

Who seriously thought this was a good idea? I mean, I completely empathize with how frustrating breastfeeding can be. It certainly didn't come naturally to E and Melbo. (After two weeks of trying, I became a huge Similac booster, while Melbo, bless her heart, devotedly carried on the good fight). But come on people, some word-plays just don't work. There has got to be a better name than "Breast Whisperer" (especially at $150 an hour). Lactation Wizard. Breast-Feeding Guru. Master Lactator. Lactating Queen. Pretty much anything strikes me as less cringe-worthy.

On the scale of bad derivatives though... I guess I'd have to concede, if pushed, that it's better than "nipplegate" (slightly).

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Hey all... While I haven't been exactly the most prolific blogger of late, I did start guest blogging over at the Mormon blog Times & Seasons this past week. I'll post links here to whatever I throw up over there in case you're interested:

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

[Waterboarding] is in violation of the Geneva Convention. It's in violation of existing law and... if we're going to get the high ground in this world and we're going to be the America that we have cherished and loved for more than 200 years, we're not going to torture people. We're not going to do what Pol Pot did. We're not going to do what's being done to Burmese monks as we speak. I suggest that you talk to retired military officers and active duty military officers like Colin Powell and others... how in the world anybody could think that that kind of thing could be inflicted by Americans on people who are held in our custody is absolutely beyond me.... Life is not "24" and Jack Bauer. Life is interrogation techniques which are humane and yet effective. I just came back from visiting a prison in Iraq. The Army general there said that techniques under the Army Field Manual are working and working effectively, and he didn't think they need to do anything else. [T]his is what America is all about. This is a defining issue...."

Votes against a Senate bill that prohibits the CIA from waterboarding by requiring it to abide by the Army Field Manual's limits on interrogation techniques (the same manual that McCain is praising as sufficient for our needs above).

Update: For a good primer on what's at issue with this legislation and what McCain's arguments for voting against it are, see here.